Homesteading and Hobby Farm/Ranch

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BrutulTM

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That description is nothing remotely similar to the goats milk I've tasted from many different goats.

Your girlfriend either had a magic goat or maybe a very small cow.
I don't know. It's the only goat milk I've ever had but I thought it was good. From my days with a milk cow as a kid I know that the animal's diet affects what the milk tastes like. Every once in a while our cow would eat some weeds or something and make the milk taste weird for a couple of days.
 
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Aldarion

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I can believe that.

I'm just traumatized form living on a working goat farm for a few years as a child. We switched over exclusively to goats milk for those years. Its probably what made me stop drinking milk in general.
 
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...

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anyone here running greenhouses? Looking at maybe just buying a larger greenhouse kit. Curious if others have done the same
I'm going to build one next year. Out of lumber and ...shit. I forget ehat they are called. The clear plasticky corrugated sheets. Just going to make a frame and bolt them on the roof and sides. Gonna make the sides liftable because it gets hot as shit mid summer
 
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The_Black_Log Foler

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My girlfriend had a dairy goat for a while and I honestly couldn't tell the difference between it and cow's milk. Some people claimed that they could but I always wanted to set them up a blind taste test to see if they really could.
It’s the cheese man. Goat cheese is amazing. I’d love to make it
 
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The_Black_Log Foler

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I'm going to build one next year. Out of lumber and ...shit. I forget ehat they are called. The clear plasticky corrugated sheets. Just going to make a frame and bolt them on the roof and sides. Gonna make the sides liftable because it gets hot as shit mid summer
Nice. I’m done paying people to build shit. I paid a ton for my chicken coop and these guys couldn’t even use Simpson ties. Going through the entire thing this week putting Simpson ties in and then hurricane anchors.
 

Sludig

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Fucking donkey. Got to fix the door he mangled today, he figured out pushing the garden tarp hook out of the pin, so gotta curl it to make it harder to remove or find a narrow carabiner that will fit that latch.
 
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The_Black_Log Foler

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Has anyone done solarization to clear land of weeds/grass before planting? Trying to prep to plant about 50 fruit trees next month and my approach to farming has been more through the lens a permaculture, which would usually be no-till.

However for the amount of weed mat/tarp I need for solarization I’m almost tempted to buy a rototiller but I’m skeptical - I think the Bahia grass among other weeds will resurface sooner rather than later taking this approach.

TLDR: how do you prep your land for planting?
 

Kiroy

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Has anyone done solarization to clear land of weeds/grass before planting? Trying to prep to plant about 50 fruit trees next month and my approach to farming has been more through the lens a permaculture, which would usually be no-till.

However for the amount of weed mat/tarp I need for solarization I’m almost tempted to buy a rototiller but I’m skeptical - I think the Bahia grass among other weeds will resurface sooner rather than later taking this approach.

TLDR: how do you prep your land for planting?

We do. I had one of those insane 60x100 black tarps but don't do that, they are hard to move and catch wind like a mother fucker. Best way is just to go get the 10x50 black plastic rolls at HD or lowes, as many as you need for coverage.

The general rule is if it's cold / cloudy it takes a few months to nuke your weeds and kill the seed back, and if it's warm/sunny it can be done in a few weeks. Then either till and add compost, or if you're no till you broadfork then add compost, then plant.
 
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The_Black_Log Foler

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We do. I had one of those insane 60x100 black tarps but don't do that, they are hard to move and catch wind like a mother fucker. Best way is just to go get the 10x50 black plastic rolls at HD or lowes, as many as you need for coverage.

The general rule is if it's cold / cloudy it takes a few months to nuke your weeds and kill the seed back, and if it's warm/sunny it can be done in a few weeks. Then either till and add compost, or if you're no till you broadfork then add compost, then plant.
Yeah, I just bought like $600 of this


Which I don’t think will be enough to cover entire area, don’t have the math on me. Unfortunately I’ve now waited until November to do this so weather will be cooler. Knowing the resiliency of Bahia grass I’m a little concerned that this could take 2+ months…

I’ve been doing no till and I guess I’ll keep it that way. I think I may just be trying to weasel an excuse to buy a rotary tiller for my tractor.. I will most likely bring in a few truck loads of compost prior to planting.
 

Kiroy

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Yeah, I just bought like $600 of this


Which I don’t think will be enough to cover entire area, don’t have the math on me. Unfortunately I’ve now waited until November to do this so weather will be cooler. Knowing the resiliency of Bahia grass I’m a little concerned that this could take 2+ months…

I’ve been doing no till and I guess I’ll keep it that way. I think I may just be trying to weasel an excuse to buy a rotary tiller for my tractor.. I will most likely bring in a few truck loads of compost prior to planting.

That's not for solarization, it's breathable and it's purpose is to be a weed barrier while growing. It will kill and stop weeds under (although it will take a lot longer cause it's not going to get the temps you need), but won't solarize your dirt (kill the seed bank). You need strait black plastic.

 

The_Black_Log Foler

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That's not for solarization, it's breathable and it's purpose is to be a weed barrier while growing. It will kill and stop weeds under (although it will take a lot longer cause it's not going to get the temps you need), but won't solarize your dirt (kill the seed bank). You need strait black plastic.

Fml. Oh well I’ll be able to repurpose this for some garden paths in the future.
 

lurkingdirk

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Foler Foler here's a good initial greenhouse set up that won't cost you a lot and let you know if the size is right and if you want something more permanent.

Any my goats cause me no problems. I have a pretty big enclosure for them, so maybe that's why. They never charge the fence or anything. I have a shelter for them that has four walls, and the opening to get into is closeable if need be, but I never do. It's insulated, and that might not make a lot of difference, but it's enough for this climate. I put an aquarium heater in their watering pan, keeps everything perfect. The milk is amazing, and I am making a lot of goat cheese. You just need to find a reliable source for rennet.
 
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The_Black_Log Foler

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Foler Foler here's a good initial greenhouse set up that won't cost you a lot and let you know if the size is right and if you want something more permanent.

Any my goats cause me no problems. I have a pretty big enclosure for them, so maybe that's why. They never charge the fence or anything. I have a shelter for them that has four walls, and the opening to get into is closeable if need be, but I never do. It's insulated, and that might not make a lot of difference, but it's enough for this climate. I put an aquarium heater in their watering pan, keeps everything perfect. The milk is amazing, and I am making a lot of goat cheese. You just need to find a reliable source for rennet.
Thanks lurkingdirk lurkingdirk . I actually talked to my edible landscaper yesterday morning. He didn’t think a greenhouse was worth it down here in 9B unless I wanted to grow some of the less cold hardy tropical fruit trees.

He recommended just starting with some raised beds and doing square foot method.

I have two vego raised beds that I bought when I first started this whole homesteading endeavor. I’d like more but those things are so overpriced… I really like the look of the wood frame raised beds with corrugated metal sides but he was saying the wood will rot in 18 months down here… Stick with metal..

He recommended alibaba to get vego like cheap raised beds but you have to buy in huge bulk. Anyone know where to buy vego-like metal raised beds that aren’t stupid overpriced?

Yeah, I’m gonna take the earlier advice and just try two random goats off Craigslist and see what I think. I mainly wanna move them around in the forest to do the weeding that forest fires would have done in a natural setting.
 

Blazin

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Yesterday was a monumental day, I shot a groundhog with my pistol. You guys have seen enough pics of dead groundhogs. I was walking through my woods and heard it rustling some leaves and drew my carry and hit it. This is a proud day for me, I don't think I'm a very good marksman probably watch too many videos of extremely talented people setting bar too high but that is not an easy shot to make, groundhogs are extremely skittish and it's normally challenging enough to hit them at a distance with rifle/optics . I also got another with a rifle this week that was my longest shot yet, but had nice elevation on it and was able to lay down. Prone shooting is cheat mode.
 
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Aldarion

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Groundhog was the first animal I ever shot. I admit, it was a prone shot, but still. Its always good to hear about varmints getting shot.

Which reminds me, fucking gophers have been getting uppity lately...
 
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Blazin

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Groundhog was the first animal I ever shot. I admit, it was a prone shot, but still. Its always good to hear about varmints getting shot.

Which reminds me, fucking gophers have been getting uppity lately...
We are so overrun with them I don't even know if I'm making a dent. The size of some of these holes is just insane, just so tired of fixing areas. It's a battle that will probably never end as I'm surrounded by farm land and they will just keep coming in from bordering properties. It is good shooting practice, I have lots of room for improvement on that front before the Huggening starts.

I had huge corn fed buck behind house a few days ago I tried to get a video of it but wasn't quick enough. Just a few weeks from hunting season which always adds a little stress for trying to watch for hunters trespassing. Last year I saw something along woods edge in lower field and grabbed rifle so I could scope it and it was a hunter, no orange, up against a tree.
 

BrutulTM

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We have prairie dogs here. We sometimes shoot 50 in a day and it doesn't make a dent. The town just keeps getting bigger.
 
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Edaw

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We have prairie dogs here. We sometimes shoot 50 in a day and it doesn't make a dent. The town just keeps getting bigger.

Groundhog What GIF
 
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Sanrith Descartes

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Yesterday was a monumental day, I shot a groundhog with my pistol. You guys have seen enough pics of dead groundhogs. I was walking through my woods and heard it rustling some leaves and drew my carry and hit it. This is a proud day for me, I don't think I'm a very good marksman probably watch too many videos of extremely talented people setting bar too high but that is not an easy shot to make, groundhogs are extremely skittish and it's normally challenging enough to hit them at a distance with rifle/optics . I also got another with a rifle this week that was my longest shot yet, but had nice elevation on it and was able to lay down. Prone shooting is cheat mode.
Cheat mode is the green dot. Holy shit I cant believe how easy that shit is over iron sights.
 
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